Scale.



Patented Fen. 2o, |900.

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SCALE.

(Application man@ 1o, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNrTED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIMMERMAN, OF TROY, KANSAS.

SCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,708, dated February20, v1900.

Application filed June 10, 1899. Serial No. 720,124. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIM- MEEMAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Troy, in the county of Doniphan and State of Kansas,have invented a new and useful Scale, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to scales, and more especially to that classthereof known as computing or price scales; and the object of theinvention is provide a simple and efficient apparatus of this charactercapable of use in the ordinary manner and which will indicateautomatically the price to be charged for articles upon the platform'orother loadreceiver and to also indicate the weight of such articles.

The device includes as one of its essential features and in combinationwith a platform or analogous appliance a graduated beam supportedindependently of the platform, lever mechanism for sustaining theplatform, a movably-mounted lifting device for said graduated beam andwhich is connected with said lever mechanism for action, the operationbeing such that said lifting device will serve to elevate the graduatedbeam when a certain weight is placed upon the platform or other loadcarrier, and the lifting device serves as an index or pointer to be setor adj usted to meet certain conditions7 as will hereinafter appear.

With these ends in view the invention oonsists in the novel combinationof elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which willbe hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustratedthepreferred embodinient thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a computing-scale constructed in accordance with my invention andwith a portion of the platform removed to indicate more clearly thedisposition of the levers which sustain said platform. Fig. 2 is a planview of the scale with the platform removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalcentral section of the beam-lifting device. Fig. 4. is a perspectiveview, on an enlarged scale, of the bracket for supporting the graduatedbeam. Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the duplex bearings cooperativewith knife-edges on Ithe graduated beam. Fig. 6 is a detail sectionalview on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

Like characters denotelike and corresponding parts in each of theseveral figures of the drawings.

The present improvements are shown applied to a platform or counterscale, although it will be obvious that they can be employed equally aswell in connection with other kinds of apparatus of this, character, andthe scale represented includes in its construction abase or bed 2,consisting of a chambered or hollow casting and which is adapted toinclose a plurality of cooperating levers which support the platform orload-receiver 3, upon which latter the goods are to be weighed. Thelevers, which are disposed within the base, are designated,respectively, by B, B', B2, and B3, and they are arranged in pairs, therespective members of the pairs being substantially the same inconstruction. The levers B and B cooperate, and each includes alongitudinal bar 4, having near the middle the inwardlyextending arms 5and having at their opposite ends the oppositely-disposed arms 6, andthese arms 6 are provided with the knife-edges 7, resting upon thewell-known V-shaped bearings located within the base 2. Said arms 6 areprovided adjacent the knife-edges 7 with knife-edges 8, adapted to'receive V- shaped bearings secured to the under side of the platform 3.The inwardly-disposed arms 5 have knife-edges at their inner ends,connected by the loops familiar in this class of devices. The levers B2and B3 are located above the levers B B', and each of them includes alongitudinal bar 9, having knife-edges'lO at their ends supported byV-shaped bearings located within the base, and said bars 9 are providedwith the parallel inwardly-extendin g arms 12, having knife-edgesconnected, by means of loops, with the oppositely-disposed knifeedgesupon the inwardly-disposed arms 5 on the scale-lever B', as indicatedclearly in the drawings. The longitudinal bars 9, which, it will beobserved, are flat and are in parallelism with the longitudinal bars 4,are provided with the oppositely and outwardly disposed arms 13, of Ushape, and the branches IOO of which are equipped with the usualknifeedges, connected by the familiar loops with knife-edges upon thefeet or transverse portions 14 of the vertical rods 15, and it willbeevident that from the construction described when the platform 3 islowered by the weight of material resting thereon the rods 15 will beelevated, and these rods are connected for simultaneous action by thecross-bar 16, of substantially flat form, and which constitute acarrierfor the graduated beam-lifter. This cross-bar is horizontal, and itsends tit within notches formed in the upper extremities of thevertically-reciprocative rods 15, the two parts being connected togetherby suitable fastening,` devices. The cross-bar supports the block 17,the latter having a transverse slot 18 to receive the bar, from which itwill be evident that the block is adapted to travel from end to end ofthe bar. The block 17 carries a slide 19, vertically reciprocative inthe way or socket 2O therein, and which has a point or beveled end, asat 2l, to engage between the notches or serrations of the graduated beam22, hereinafter more particularly described. Normally the pointed end ofthe slide 19 is located below the graduated beam, and I provide meansfor elevating the same into its working position', so that it can raisethe graduated beam when a certain weight is upon the platform. The slide10, which directly lifts the graduated beam, has an elongated slot 22,which receives the cross-bar 1G, and itslower end is engaged by theeccentric 23, secured to the upperend of the curved lever 24, fulcru medor pivoted, as at 25, within an aperture formed on the under side of theblock 17, and the construction is such that the manipulation of thelever will operate the slide 19 through the eccentric 23, so that saidslide can lift the graduated beam at the proper point.

The graduated beam is designated by 30, and it is provided near one endwith the weight 31, carried on a threaded spindle 32 and which isadjustable along said spindle for the purpose of compensating for anyvariations in the poise, and said graduated beam is provided at a pointadjacent to the poiseweight 31 with knife-edges 33, arranged in pairsand located one pair above the other, the upper pair being adapted tocooperate with the V-shaped bearings 33,while the lower pair are adaptedto cooperate with the inverted-V-shaped bearings 34, the respectivebearings being` formed upon the arms or branches of the bifurcatedupright 35,secured to the hollow post or pillar 36, a similar pillarbeing provided at the opposite side of the machine, andthe rods 15, towhich reference was hereinbefore made, extend through these hollowposts. The lowerends or extremities of the rods 15 are provided with theusual cross-arms having terminal knife-edges and fitted in yokes adjacently supported,whereby is provided abase broad enough to maintain theframe in upright position.

This construction is well known in the art and is not shown because itis included in the lever mechanism,and by such means the rods 15 areheld upright and against sagging movement, the posts or pillars 36acting as shields for the rods above the bed 2. The beam 30 is graduatedupon its upper and lower edges, the graduations representing units ofcurrency and being arranged in correspondence or alinement. Thegraduations run from O to 30, although' it is evident that this can bematerially modified, the scale illustrated beingr simply adopted forconvenience in representing the nature'of the invention. The graduatedbeam eXtends through theloop 37 at the upper end of the arm 38, securedto the post 36, and it carries at its outer end the link 39, to whichthe weight-su pporting disk 40 is joined. Said graduated beam carriesthe slidable poise 41, having the pin 42, which is adapted to enter thelongitudinal groove or channel 43 in one face of the graduated beam,thereby to hold the poise-weight in place, as it will be seen that theweight simply straddles the beam. The slidable poise 41 is provided withthe usual pointer adapted to serve the usual function.

In Fig. 1 the pointed or index end of the slide 19 is at a point belowand opposite the notch upon the under side of the graduated. beam,marked 10, and said slide 19 is supposed to be in its uppermostposition, and the pointer of the slidable poise 41 is in the notch 107upon the upper graduated side of said beam 30, so that when articles areplaced upon the platform the latter will be lowered, and thereby,through the intermediate connections, elevating the cross-bar 16, andconsequently the slide 19, so that the latter can lift the graduatedbeam to an intermediate position, thereby indicating a true poise.Therefore in view of this disposition of the parts the graduations willindicate that ten cents worth of an article at ten cents per pound hadbeen placed upon the platform for the purpose of elevating the graduatedbeam in the manner just indicated, cents, of course, being the standardof currency adopted and it being assumed that the article sells fortencents a pound. Should it be desired to weigh two pounds of the article,the poise 41 would be moved opposite the 20 mark upon the graduatedbeam, so that it will be necessary to place two pounds of weight uponthe platform before the graduated beam can be lifted. If the articlesells for fifteen cents, the point 21 will be placed opposite the 15mark and the poise 41 will be correspondingly shifted if it is desiredto weigh out a pound, or if the article sells, say, for ten cents apound the position of the poise 41 either to the left or ri'ght of the10 mark will indicate the cost of the article upon the platform.

It will be remembered that the graduated beam 30 is provided with twopairs of knifeedges, located, respectively, in superposed planes, andthe upper pair come into play IOO IIO

when the poise 4l is to the left of the liftingslide 19. Otherwise thelower pair is in action.

From the preceding description it will be apparent that the de vice issimple in operation and can be constructed at a low cost and that itautomatically indicates plainly to a prospective purchaser the weightand the price of an article or goods supported upon the platform.

The disk can be provided with one or more weights when it becomesnecessary to weigh articles heavier than the graduations upon the beam30 will permit.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details ofconstruction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted towithout depart-ing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim isl. In a scale, thecombination with a platform, of lever mechanism for operativelysustaining the said platform, hollow posts eX- tending vertically abovethe lever mechanism and clear of the platform, rods having their lowerextremities operatively connected to the lever mechanism and freelymovable through the said posts, a transversely-extending cross-barhaving its opposite ends rigidly secured to the upper extremities of thesaid rods above the post-s, the said rods being clear of attacheddevices between the said crossbar and their connection with the levermechanism, agraduated beam supported above one end and independently ofthe said platform and the lever mechanism by the said posts and in aplane parallel with the cross-bar and directly over the latter, and ablock movably mounted on the said cross-bar and having avertically-adjustable slide therein adapted to be operated from beneaththe same to bear against the under edge of the graduated beam, saidslide having a slot therein longer than the width of the cross-bar.

2. In a scale, the combination with a platform, of lever mechanism foroperatively sustaining the platform, a graduated beam located above andsupported independently of the platform and lever mechanism, a crossbarhaving an equal rise-and-fall movement from end to end and its oppositeextremities rigidly connected to the devices supporting the same, thesaid cross-bar being situated directly under the graduated beam and thelatter having its lower edge provided with regularly-formed serrations,a block slidingly mounted on the said cross-bar directly under the loweredge of the graduated beam, a slide vertically adjustable in the blockand having an upper reduced edge to fit in the said serrations of thebeam and also provided with a slot longer than the width of thecross-bar, and an eccentrically-mounted device on the block directlybelow the slide for raising and lowering the latter.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

S. P. ZIMMERMAN, S. H. BLAKELY.

